EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding wrote to member
countries to ask them to check whether Apple retailers failed to
advertise buyers’ right to a minimum two-year warranty for
products such as the iPhone and the iPad tablet computer.

“Apple prominently advertised that its products come with
a one-year manufacturer warranty but failed to clearly indicate
the consumers’ automatic and free-of-cost entitlement to a
minimum two-year guarantee under EU law,” Reding said to
ministers in the letter, which was obtained by Bloomberg News.
“These are unacceptable marketing practices.”

Italy’s competition agency fined Apple 900,000 euros ($1.16
million) in December. The regulator, which also enforces
consumer protection rules, said the company misled consumers by
“prominently advertising” that its products have a one-year
manufacturer warranty, and through the sale of its “AppleCare
Protection Plan” warranty extension.

Alan Hely, a spokesman for Cupertino, California-based
Apple in London, declined to comment beyond referring to Apple’s
EU statutory warranty page on its website. According to that, EU
consumer law covers defects in the product at the time of
delivery that become apparent for two years after purchase. In
addition to that, Apple also offers a one-year limited warranty
and the AppleCare protection plan to cover defects arising after
the buyer gets the device.

Consumer Protection

Different sanctions exist in EU countries for violations of
consumer protection law. While the European Commission, the EU’s
executive arm, can’t investigate companies over misleading
advertising, it can take legal action against a country that
fails to enforce EU rules.

Consumer groups in 11 countries, including Italy and
Germany, said in March that they had written to Apple or made a
complaint to a local consumer agency about the advertising of
the company’s warranties.